“But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord.” 1 Peter 3:15
Today in our country, there is a lot of debate about what type of society we should have. Wrangling among political parties and their supporters is often loud and vociferous. Competing views are critiqued by pundits and pollsters.
In thinking about what type of society we should have or what initiatives we should support or oppose, we Christians need to heed the warning of C. S. Lewis in Mere Christianity. There he writes:
“Most of us are not really approaching the subject in order to find out what Christianity says: we are approaching it in the hope of finding support from Christianity for the views of our own party. We are looking for an ally where we are offered either a Master or a Judge.”
In other words, our decision-making is often wrong-headed. We settle into the view of our favorite political party and then seek to justify it, arguing that surely “God is on our side”. But the real issue is whether we are on God’s side. With God, we have two opposing options. We either yield to Him as Master or face Him as nothing but Judge.
So, as Christians, our positions on issues of the day should not merely mimic the positions of a particular political party or prattling pundit. Our support for or opposition to an issue should never stand or fall on whether the issue is supported by the Republicans or the Democrats, by the “conservatives” or the “liberals”. In fact, no party should have our undying allegiance. That’s called idolatry. Our undying allegiance is to the Master. We are to care first and foremost about what He thinks and wants. We are to seek after the type of society that He desires, applying biblical principles to our decision-making. The positions of political parties or politicians or the results of opinion polls do not set the standards by which we live, vote, or take action.
For, you see, as Christians, we follow neither an elephant nor a donkey. We follow the Lamb who is the Lion of Judah. May we think, speak, and act like it.
--David<><